Come on now @Cap, that statement alone shatters any credibility you had.
Is Dan in the talks for coach of the year? Answer, yes he is. He won’t win it, missed playoffs by 1 game. But to take a team from a 3 win scrap pile of players to 9 wins the next year, does not place his job under fire.
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No the coaches started the comparisons between Anzalone and Barnes, namely Campbell. Campbell has been quick to bad mouth Barnes and quick to sing Anzalone’s praises, even when not prompted. I am shedding light on what I see. I that is starting something than so be it.
Also you have some misconceptions about Barnes’ college career. He was not “bounced around” like you day, he was placed out of position by a coach that wanted to play his son, eventually that coach was fired. I don’t see how you post that as a negative about Barnes.
Also you say “the best players are going to get the money” right, however the players have to get the opportunity to display their skills. My contention this year and last year is that Anzalone is afforded more opportunity because of friendship and not ability. Do you really think he is better player than Rodrigo he out snapped him by over 400 snaps also and remember snap mean money, not only for putting together a resume, but also in terms of reaching contractual incentives.
There was a time when the Lions were 1 and 6, game 9 is when Barnes had his best career game and started the winning streak and the 8-2 stretch that you referred to. However the commentary on this forum is still very negative concerning his NFL linebacker ability, I will always defend that, and if I have to use Anzalone as the comparison I will. Who else would you have me use, he gets the lions share of the snaps at linebacker so he’s the obvious choice.
By the way I have documented on this forum how Barnes out played Anzalone during that stretch according to most media outlets and statically.
I am not a fan of PFF but they have Barnes rated 8 spots ahead of Anzalone as a NFL linebacker for the year. So there are some more comparisons that you don’t care for.
For someone who does not have a dog in the fight you sure often time come to the defense of Anzalone and this coaching staff when I choose to shed light on what I see.
You quoted part of my statement, I said especially early on this year and all of last year. They obviously turned it around the second half of the year, and players played better; that coincided with the better coaching.
Glenn’s debacle in the Carolina game, (no half time adjustments), was week 16 that is why I said all year.
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Yep, don’t care, I’m done with this whole thing.
I am a Lions fan, you clearly are not. You are only here because of you knowing Barnes when he was a kid and you think he’s getting a raw deal. Sorry you feel that way but as long as the Lions are winning and getting better, I don’t care if it’s Barnes or anyone else playing LB.
Take care and good luck on your journey.
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Cap on block again. Dude just talk to yourself over your favorite libation since you’re not convincing anyone here. Go start a “Barnes is a HOF’mer” forum elsewhere as this diatribe is boring…
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I didn’t know you spoke for the entire forum, when were you elected to that position???
Consensus is clear on this topic… I’m just summarizing 
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what does "play for less mean? Can’t mean less than last year. No way do Buggs, or Cominsky play for less than a million this year.
Bug man, you say go and start HOFmer post. You are soooo for away from my point. I am attempting to keep the playing field level when it comes to Barnes and Anzalone. I am in no way taunting Barnes as a HOFmer. I am merely saying I believe Barnes is a better linebacker than Anzalone and I use stats, (tackle rate and missed tackle rate), to prove my position.
Check out the article on the Lions website by TimTwentyman. The first thing I noticed is every linebacker’s name except Barnes is highlighted under THE GOOD, and only Barnes’s name is highlighted under THE BAD???
This speaks to the point that I make that I am not the one who starts these comparisons. Anzalone is the highlight of that article, and Barnes gets two sentences about being most improved and having less snaps than last year. The writer does not connect Anzalone with the problems the defense had with tackling and their over all low ratings on defense comparative to teams across the NFL, even though he was on the field extremely more than any other linebacker. All of the linebackers in this article take on the responsibility of the bad play with Barnes’s name being highlighted.
Anzalone is pointed out as the MVP, with no reference to his success being a result of opportunity, (1080 snaps).
It is articles/ slants like this that will govern the opinions of the masses about the Lions linebacker play,( power of the pen), however untrue they may be.
I started early on in the year trying to head this commentary off. Articles and opinions like this left unchecked will give fans the wrong impressions. I will continue to advocate for Barnes in numerous media venues and sports writer’s emails and twitter accounts in my attempt to get him a level playing field.
Last year we started signing our own around the middle of February and like 1 a week so we should have a few more weeks before the dominoes start to fall.
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wasn’t Barnes playing less than Anzalone? could be why Anz has higher numbers.
No doubt!!! I flew home with his whole family after Giants game. Great people and mom and sis are not ugly.
I’ll sum it up this way. I have never coached an NFL team, Never played in the NFL and was never an NFL scout.
The head coach, the position coaches and a bunch of scouts before pick 113 didn’t see anything amazing. If they did he would have been drafted higher and playing more. HE IS STILL YOUNG, trust the coaches to bring him up to speed and let him loose when he is ready. THEY did it with JMOA and Houston, so they have earned my trust.
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